


The Girl In The Tank

by Star_River



Category: Touhou Project
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Everyone is a human except Wakasagihime, F/F, Kagerou is super gay, like REALLY REALLY gay
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-14
Updated: 2018-02-18
Packaged: 2018-11-14 00:47:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,324
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11196957
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Star_River/pseuds/Star_River
Summary: Mermaids aren't supposed to be kept in captivity, it's inhumane. Kagerou plans to save one--as long as she can keep her own feelings captive in return.





	1. Free Her

**Author's Note:**

> It's been a while since I last posted any of my writing! Here goes my first attempt at a multi-chapter fic. Sorry if the whole AU aspect of it is a little out there, I just wanted to have a little fun!

Kagerou had never seen anyone as beautiful as the girl in the tank.

Draped in artificial jewels and pearls, she was being forced for the fifth time that day to carry out the usual water dancing routine. Children ooh-ed and ahh-ed at her majesty, pressing their faces to the glass. Kagerou gripped her satchel--she felt a little self conscious, being over 6 feet tall in a crowd of people half that size.

Still, her jaw had dropped, open since the moment she laid eyes on her. Sunlight kissed her aquatic form and dyed each of her scales a different iridescent hue as she twirled around in the water. Her hair flowed along with her, and she batted her long eyelashes playfully at her audience, laughing. Kagerou's heart thumped harder.

She hadn't intended on becoming infatuated with the mermaid. Her mission was simple: get the job, gain their trust, free the girl. Longing to hold her in her arms likely didn't fit neatly into the equation--she was just an activist, not a knight in shining armor.

The girl before her was, however, a princess. Her royal gaze fell upon Kagerou and locked onto her as she smiled sweetly, batting her eyelashes again. Kagerou knew it was just part of the routine, but the act made her heart melt into a sugary, troublesome goo.

The mermaid did somersaults in the water. Despite the dire circumstances of her captivity, she swam with such serenity and grace. This reminded Kagerou that her plan was for the sake of conservation and humanity, and she suddenly felt a twinge of sorrow in her chest. _“Poor thing.”_

Her hand was trembling. She lifted it and pressed it to the glass of the tank, her eyes full of as much wonder as the children around her, if not more.

In that moment, her true intentions became clear. No matter what, this girl had to return home.

 

The finale was a dolphin-like leap out of the water, and a subsequent dive back down to the bottom of the tank. People around Kagerou applauded, bringing her back to earth and reminding her that she wasn't alone. She still found herself slipping in and out of awareness, though. Her face reddened as her thoughts became tangled. A wave goodbye from the mermaid before she surfaced once more was enough to make her even redder.

“Gorgeous, isn't she,” someone to the right of Kagerou said suddenly.

Startled, she turned, acknowledging the presence of the employee. She met her mysterious stare, a look that felt much colder than that of the mermaid. Her lavender hair seemed to bounce as she laughed at Kagerou's timid response. This offended Kagerou, who knew that these employees were well aware of the inhumanity of keeping a mermaid captive. She quickly reminded herself that she had to get on her good side.

“Yeah, she's… Beautiful.” She flashed a forced grin, but the her sentiment was all the same.

“Forgive me, I just couldn't help but notice the look on your face,” the employee explained, bringing a hand to her mouth as she chuckled again. “Is this your first time seeing one? You know, a mermaid.”

Kagerou beamed--this was her chance. “No, actually--” she began, shaking her head. “I’ve worked with mermaids in the wild before. I've been interested in getting a job here and I was curious about the mermaid you have here…”

“Oh! I see,” the woman said, nodding. “Unfortunately I don't think we have any openings for the mermaid exhibit, but we do have some for small tank maintenance…”

Kagerou had expected something of the sort. Of course, this meant she wouldn't be able to reach out to the mermaid right away, but surely she would at least be able to work her way through the ranks and gain the trust of her coworkers. “That's fine! I'd still love to apply."

The woman smiled. “Wonderful! I’ll go get you an application form to fill out,” she said. “I'm Benben by the way, nice to meet you!”

She stuck out her hand for a handshake, and Kagerou grimaced on the inside. _“This one's a real goody two shoes, huh,”_ she thought as she shook her hand. She noted how firm and assertive her grip was. _“Even worse.”_

 

Benben scurried away to retrieve the needed papers from an office. Kagerou sighed, shaking her head at the woman she knew would be trouble, and looked back at the tank again. Small fish swam around in the water, opening and closing their mouths as if saying hello. She couldn't help but bring a hand to the glass again as she looked up to the surface.

There, she saw the mermaid's tail flapping about; her top half was above the water as she took a quick breather. But mere seconds later, she dove back down, her costume discarded and her truest form revealed. Kagerou gasped, blushing--she hadn't expected to see her in such a private moment. Her resting expression was so natural,  as she witnessed when peeking up again, and somehow, it was even more beautiful than her smile from the performance.

And then the mermaid turned her head. Kagerou was the only one standing before the tank, and so her gaze fell back upon her once more. They both froze where they were out of surprise. Kagerou's heart stopped.

The mermaid smiled. This was different from the smiles before. It was so gentle, so genuine and kind, Kagerou felt her heart thump so hard she nearly lost her breath.

She swam down to the bottom of the tank, still smiling. Kagerou had a hand covering most of her face, as she was blushing so intensely, but as her uncovered eyes widened, the mermaid giggled. Once she reached where Kagerou stood, she waved again, as if they were familiar friends, before swimming all the way back to the surface again.

This was the moment when Kagerou accepted that she had fallen hopelessly for the girl in the tank.


	2. Im Gon Get You Outta There

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kagerou finally talks to the girl in the tank.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been so long! lmao i kinda forgot i wrote this. oops. but im back!!! blease enjoy. hopefully i will continue less slowly

Kagerou received a phone call one afternoon. Having been anxious about the whole ordeal, she had been plagued with worry for an entire week. She was so eager to hear from the aquarium that she answered every call before her phone could play the first four notes of her ringtone. And this time, she finally got what she wanted.

_ “Congratulations!”  _ the person on the other end said. _ “We've accepted your job application for tank maintenance. We look forward to working with you!”  _

Kagerou's worries thus melted away and made room for other worries. Would this plan go well? Would the organization she was part of be caught and sued for stealing an entire mermaid? The idea of such a turnout was absurd, but the law’s mistreatment of rare creatures was so firm and unwavering, her organization would likely be shut down she were found out. The fate of her entire cause lay in her hands.

But, as always, Kagerou’s thoughts inevitably shifted back to the mermaid. Her strained expression relaxed into a bashful smile, and she chuckled.  _ “I get to see her again… That’s nice!”  _ she thought, running her hands through her hair.  _ “I’ll have to properly introduce myself to her as soon as I can…” _

A familiar voice spoke out to her. “What's with the goofy smile?”

Kagerou turned around to see Sekibanki, her roommate and fellow organization member. “Oh, Banki, you're not gonna believe this! I actually got the job!”

“Woah. Congrats, dude,” Sekibanki said as she kicked back on the couch, a soda in her hand. “Now you just have to act natural. A little less touchy so they don't get suspicious.” Squinting at Kagerou's expression, she added, “And maybe a little less gay so you don't fall into this too deep. I know that look.”

“H-Hey!” Kagerou yelled, turning red and staring at the floor. “I can't help it! You should've seen her, she was just… Wow.”

“And the network is going to be ‘just wow’ when you blow it over a crush,” Sekibanki scolded. “Remember to stick to the plan, alright?”

Kagerou sighed. “Yeah, yeah, I will. I swear.”

“Good.” Sekibanki tossed a can of soda her way. “You better.”    
  


* * *

 

The first day on the job was simple. Kagerou simply had to test the tanks for salinity, pH levels, nitrate and nitrite, and so forth. She would eventually have to take on the task of cleaning the tanks, of course, alongside being a helpful coworker with her fellow employees, but was given time to familiarize herself with the place and its residents first. 

There were multicolored fish the size of her hand, eels that looked like sock puppets, and lots of jellyfish to acquaint herself with. She saw echinoderms that moved slowly but surely, and a select few gastropods that didn't seem to move at all. Some parts of the aquarium even featured astonishingly large sharks. Despite all this wonder surrounding her, Kagerou couldn't possibly care less about any fish other than the one she wanted so desperately to meet. Still, doing her best to act natural, she explored the areas relevant to her job, at the very least attempting to be a good employee. 

Her lunch break eventually came. Kagerou devoured her roast beef sandwich in about a minute and a half, fully prepared to go and see the mermaid at last, but a new coworker unexpectedly butted in. 

“Hey newbie, I’m Raiko. How's it goin’?” a redhead greeted just as Kagerou was finishing her meal.

“Uh… Good, I guess, it's my first day so uh…”

The woman chuckled, taking a seat next to her. “Gotcha. Still nervous and all. It'll be fine, the first few days are always like that.”

“Yeah!” Kagerou nodded. “It’s… A nice place. I like it here.”

“Sweet,” Raiko said, nodding along with her.

Kagerou decided to slowly ease her way out. She pushed her chair out a little to stand up and leave, but was interrupted again. “Hey, what's your name again? I think Benben told me. Kangaroo?”

She gritted her teeth. Now this was just getting ridiculous. “It's Kagerou.”

“Ohhh… Kagerou. Got it. Sorry, bud.”

Kagerou tried to exit the room.

“Oh, hey, one more thing--”

That was enough. Kagerou was already socially awkward on her own as it was, and she needed to be somewhere else anyway. “Sorry, uh, I gotta go. To the restroom. It's, uh, an emergency, y’know?” 

Raiko tilted her head. “Uh, sure, okay--”

And that was Kagerou's cue to get out of there. She scurried away as fast as she could without making it seem like she was as normal and restroom-bound as possible--or at least she hoped. Whatever the case, she made a beeline for the mermaid exhibit, thinking to herself the whole way, “ _ God, how come everyone who works here is so weird?”  _

Of course, these were people more normal than how she was acting, despite her efforts, but Kagerou wasn't a people person to begin with.

 

* * *

 

Kagerou stood at the door and fumbled with the keys in her hand. She had been given the same set as all employees, which included one to the area where the mermaid exhibit was held. Now it was time to personally introduce herself to this girl, make a friendly impression, and analyze how her demeanor could affect the plan. For instance, if she turned out to like life in the aquarium, it would certainly be a challenge to remove her. Or perhaps if Kagerou failed to befriend her, broken heart aside, a lack of trust would slow progress completely. She began to have doubts, still fidgeting with the keyring and doing her best to plan everything out in her head.

Kagerou remembered that she was also pressed for time, needing to get back to work soon and not attract suspicion in case the employees for the exhibit made an early return. Whatever the case, however the turnout, she had to open that door and say hello.

_ “Here we go.”  _ She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, put the key in the keyhole and turned it, and slowly, slowly opened the heavy door.

 

A blinding light shone into Kagerou's eyes as the mermaid exhibit tank came into view. Surely, it had been the sun’s reflection on the water--but seconds later, when her eyes adjusted, she began to believe it was her sheer radiant presence that shone so brightly. 

The mermaid sat at the water's edge with her back to the door, fastening the pearl jewelry for her costume, her tail flapping at her side. Kagerou couldn't even see her face, but the fact that she was right there before her made her weak in the knees. She hadn't turned around yet, either, likely thinking Kagerou was one of the usual staff--an observation that led Kagerou to realize that she was the one who would have to speak up first. Her hands trembled slightly as she shut the door behind her and prayed not to startle the girl.

“H… Hello?”

The mermaid froze for a moment, likely attempting to place the voice. Unable to, she then turned to see who had entered her domain. “Yes?”

Their gazes instantly met and locked onto each other. Kagerou had seen her relatively up close before from outside the tank, but now that she was truly face to face with her, she found all words slipping from her mind. Those deep blue eyes were mesmerizing enough to put her into a trance. 

“...Um…” the mermaid mumbled, not breaking eye contact for a moment. “Who are you?”

Kagerou gulped. This was bad. She had been doing her personal best at being normal the entire day, but now, standing before not only the most important person of the mission but also the target of her infatuation, she could only freeze. If that weren't enough, her face was already burning hot. Her subconscious scolded her for blushing so easily. 

“Um…”

The mermaid's confused voice brought Kagerou back to reality as she realized how long she had been standing and staring without saying a word. She felt a pang of embarrassment in her chest as she brought a hand to her mouth and cleared her throat. “U-Uhh, yes, I, um…” she began, deciding to break eye contact for her own good. “I'm… Kagerou. I work here now. I'm new here.”

Kagerou was met with an awkward silence so painful that she longed to curl up and die.  _ “Oh god. I messed up already,”  _ she thought, sweating.

Surprisingly, however, the mermaid decided to respond. “I… I see,” she said with a slow nod, clearly feeling a little awkward herself. “Are you working with me?”

Kagerou shook her head frantically, her hair becoming even messier than before. “No, I'm just small tank maintenance, but uh… I just wanted to drop in and say hi.”

“Oh…” the mermaid turned around again, returning to her jewelry routine. “Well… Hi. I'm Wakasagi.” 

“I'm Kagerou.”

“Yes, you told me.”

Kagerou really wanted to die now. “Oh. Oops. Sorry…”

She scratched the back of her head and tried her best to calm herself down, but it was no use--she was unable to rid herself of the blush while thinking about how sweet her voice sounded. This was the first time she had been able to hear it, and it was just as wonderful as she had hoped, despite how uncomfortable they both felt.

As she had such a thought, she heard a sound even more wonderful--the mermaid's giggle. “It's alright,” she assured. “You wouldn't expect it from my being a performer, but I'm actually quite timid and shy myself…”

“Wow, yeah, your performances are so amazing,” Kagerou enthused. “I mean--! You're amazing right now too. How you are, I mean. But I don't really know you so I guess that's kind of weird, sorry!”

Wakasagi giggled again. “Really, it's fine. I'm quite flattered.” She then scooted to the side and patted the free ground next to her. “Would you like to join me? I don't get visitors often…”

“Oh, uh, sure!” 

Kagerou, now somewhat at ease knowing the mermaid was friendly, joined her at the edge of the water with her legs crossed. All embarrassment aside, she seemed to be making a decent impression herself.

The mermaid turned to face her as she fumbled with the clasp of a pearl necklace. “So… You've seen my performances before?” 

“Yes! I have,” Kagerou said with quite a bit of excitement from the vivid memory. “Just a little over a week ago, I was here, and I saw you perform! You were amazing! I wish I could work with you.”

As Wakasagi chuckled at how overeager her timid visitor had become within such a short period of time, Kagerou realized how much she had said. Her gushy, sappy feelings were beginning to show, much to her disdain. “Ah, sorry if that's weird or anything… You probably don't even remember seeing me.”

Wakasagi giggled once more. “No, no, that's sweet of you!” she said. “It is difficult to remember all the faces of those who watch me, but I do love being such a sight to behold.”

The mermaid then sighed, staring into the water with a bittersweet smile. It was clear and bright, and the crowd gathering before the inner window had grown since the beginning of their conversation. “This is my life now, after all. I have to make the best of what I have.”

This grabbed Kagerou's attention. She was referring to her life in the aquarium, wasn't she? Did what she said imply she wasn't entirely happy with being held captive? Remembering the true point of talking to her to begin with, several questions stirred in her mind. 

She opened her mouth to speak, “Wait, so--”

Suddenly, a noise from behind made Kagerou jump. Someone had opened the door.  _ “Shit.” _

The person who stepped in the doorway didn’t notice at first that someone besides the mermaid was present. “Show starts in 10, Princess. Lunch today is sardines, you’ll get them afterwards.”

As soon as she looked up, though, she made eye contact with Kagerou, who grimaced upon realizing who it was. “Hi…”

“Oh! Hey, newbie!” Raiko waved, flashing a grin. “What’re you doing here? Better get back to work before Kijin catches you.”

Kagerou glanced at Wakasagi. Her gaze was still set upon the audience below the tank. She sighed. “Yeah, I guess I should. I was just getting to know the place, is all.”

“Gotcha,” Raiko said, extending an arm. Kagerou hesitantly accepted the offer and stood back up with her help. This act made her self conscious, as she realized just how tall she towered over the other woman.

“Uh… Thank you.”

“No problem! By the way, you alright? You seem kind of tired.” 

Kagerou tried her best to make eye contact. “I’m fine! Everything’s fine.”

“Alright! See you around!”

Kagerou rushed to the door. She was rather proud of herself--even if she hadn’t found out all she hoped for, she was able to successfully meet the mermaid, who turned out to be perfectly friendly.  _ “She’s so cute, too. Thank God.” _

Putting her hand on the doorknob, she glanced over her shoulder once more. To her surprise, Wakasagi had looked up from her deep thought and was now watching her exit. Their eyes met, and Kagerou’s face heated up again, so she quickly turned back around and slipped away.

The door clicked shut behind her. She took a deep breath in, and exhaled loudly.  _ “Hopefully I didn’t make Raiko too suspicious…”  _ she thought, leaning with her back against the door. Making a bad impression would be dangerous, especially on the first day, but she trusted her gut and decided to hope for the best.

After all, she had to free that girl no matter what.

Hearing that sweet laugh of hers echo in her mind, she swore she would protect it at all costs.


End file.
